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We are down to the wire folks with only seven days until election day. In that seven days we can expect McCain, Palin and the GOP to throw as much slime and diversion as they can muster to try to scare, terrorize and fool voters into voting for them.

We can’t let them get away with it. Not this time. Not this year. Not when so much is at stake.

I know that some of you are just ready for this election to be over. But, we are at a transformative moment in our country’s history where we can make a break from the failed politics of fear, hatred and division as practiced by Bush, Cheney, McCain and Palin.

Rather than offer solutions to deal with the financial, healthcare, energy and climate crises we are facing McCain, Palin and their supporters have tried to convince us that Sen. Obama is a closeted Muslim who is BFFs with terrorists, hates America and wants to teach six year olds about sex. None of that is true, of course, but that’s what you do when don’t have proposals to effectively deal with the challenges facing our country.

On the issue of LGBT civil rights, the differences between Obama and McCain could not be more stark.

As I pointed out in my posts, Gays Won’t Let Friends Vote McCain, No Way. No How. No McCain/Palin. and The LGBT Case for Barack Obama:

Barack Obama:

• supports an inclusive ENDA
• supports the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act
• supports the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
• supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act
• opposes state constitutional amendments banning marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships

John McCain:

• opposes basic civil rights protections for LGBT Americans
• supports the ban on openly gay Americans serving in the military
• opposes gay adoption
• would appoint Supreme Court justices that would overturn Roe v Wade

In these seven last crucial days, please help get out the vote for Barack Obama.

With a week to go before election day, Sen. Barack Obama delivers his “closing argument” as to why we should elect him as our next president.

John McCain, Sarah Palin and the GOP will throw every bit of slime and diversion they can muster to try to scare, terrorize and fool voters into voting for them. We have to expose their lies and continue to talk to voters about why a victory by Sen. Obama is so crucial for us as LGBT people and for the country.

I don’t remember counting down the days before an election the way I’m doing this year. Others are doing the same thing. Last Friday night outside DC’s Lincoln Theatre, as fans arrived for the Reel Affirmations film festival, I found an old friend who was a proud Hillary Clinton supporter selling Obama Pride t-shirts. The crisp autumn air has brought Democrats the smell of victory.

We’re a long way from last January. Back then, a prominent, progressive gay blogger asked me whom I supported for President. “Obama,” I replied. He was incredulous. “Do you really think a black man can get elected?” he asked. “I don’t know,” I said, “but I plan to vote for him.” “Most white people will never vote for him,” he assured me. One of many satisfactions from an Obama victory will be the disposal of smug dismissals like that one.

Of course, there are still naysayers. Some gay conservatives have taken to accusing Obama’s gay supporters of neglecting the California No on 8 campaign by donating instead to Obama, as if we cannot do both. I sure hope those critics have given No on 8 all the money they would otherwise have given John McCain.

Another conservative charge is that Obama will be to blame if Prop 8 wins, because polling suggests that the increased African American turnout for Obama will break disproportionately against marriage equality. These critics avoid mentioning the salient fact that the same poll shows Democrats breaking in favor of marriage equality, and Republicans against. Instead of exploiting ballot initiatives for cynical sniping, the Nobamacons should be educating their fellow conservatives about the concept of equal protection of the law.

Speaking of conservatives, it is satisfying to see so many of the most illustrious abandon the McCain ship. McCain’s operatives still seem not to have noticed that their over-the-top attacks fall flat because they are so at odds with the Barack Obama that people have been watching for two years. Last week, Sacramento County Republicans removed a call to “Waterboard Barack Obama” from their website after their own state party leaders were offended. Others inevitably get into the act, like blogger clifylq at LiveJournal.com, who stated in August that “Obama is a Gay Muslim.”

The lunar-orbit quality of such attacks was captured on Saturday Night Live when the McCain Rally Lady wandered onto the set declaring that Obama “is 50 percent Egyptian, he’s going to change the White House to a pyramid.” The desperate, tone-deaf hatefulness of the right-wing robocalls and ads perfectly illustrates the scorched-earth politics voters want to change.

Not long ago, many Democrats feared Obama’s preternatural calm would leave voters cold, and urged him to get hotter. But the financial crisis put Obama’s cool demeanor in a new light. Now it is seen as a key presidential trait, while McCain’s shoot-from-the-hip combustibility reminds voters that eight years of cowboy politics have not made them feel safer. Last week, conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks compared Obama’s self-assurance to that of figures like FDR and Ronald Reagan, who “rise with an unshakable serenity that is inexplicable to their critics and infuriating to their foes.” Obama’s smooth blend of thoughtfulness and elegance recalls a classic jazz orchestration with Duke Ellington at the keyboard.

Obama has set a new standard for grassroots organizing, his operations in red states promising to boost down-ballot Democrats and help build a governing majority. At the same time, his history of respectful outreach across party lines reflects his ambition for transformational wins instead of the usual petty Washington gamesmanship.

Obama’s more supple and confident approach has considerable appeal after eight years of a president on a mission from God who only talks to people who agree with him. The greatest benefit of an Obama victory might be prying open the ideological echo chambers into which so many across the spectrum have retreated.

Last Saturday night I encountered a couple of young women holding signs saying, “Stop Bitchin’ and Start a Revolution.” I haven’t the slightest interest in starting a revolution, nor do I need tips for creating change from people who fervently reject any candidate with the remotest chance of actually getting elected. The pursuit of power may be a morally fraught business, but romanticizing disempowerment is no improvement.

Lose the drama. Give us Obama.

Copyright © 2008 by Richard J. Rosendall. All rights reserved.

Rick Rosendall can be reached at rrosendall@starpower.net.

We must work as hard as we did when Obama and Sen. Joe Biden were down on the polls and Sarah Palin had just begun winking her way into the hearts of (male) right-wing ideologues. That’s why you should read the following and do all that you can to get out the vote for Obama and Biden on November 4.

TOP 5 REASONS OBAMA SUPPORTERS SHOULDN’T REST EASY

1. The polls may be wrong. This is an unprecedented election. No one knows how racism may affect what voters tell pollsters—or what they do in the voting booth. And the polls are narrowing anyway. In the last few days, John McCain has gained ground in most national polls, as his campaign has gone even more negative.

2. Dirty tricks. Republicans are already illegally purging voters from the rolls in some states. They’re whipping up hysteria over ACORN to justify more challenges to new voters. Misleading flyers about the voting process have started appearing in black neighborhoods. And of course, many counties still use unsecure voting machines.

3. October surprise. In politics, 15 days is a long time. The next McCain smear could dominate the news for a week. There could be a crisis with Iran, or Bin Laden could release another tape, or worse.

4. Those who forget history… In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote after trailing by seven points in the final days of the race. In 1980, Reagan was eight points down in the polls in late October and came back to win. Races can shift—fast!

5. Landslide. Even with Barack Obama in the White House, passing universal health care and a new clean-energy policy is going to be hard. Insurance, drug and oil companies will fight us every step of the way. We need the kind of landslide that will give Barack a huge mandate.

If you agree that we shouldn’t rest easy, please sign up to volunteer at your local Obama office by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/obama/office.html?source=blog&id=14534-4287560-uoUVCox&t=1

David Plouffe, Barack’s campaign manager, reported the news to supporters via a special online video update. The average contribution was $86. The previous record was $66 million set by the Obama campaign in August. The total number of people that have contributed to the campaign is 3.1 million.

This news will undoubtedly make the McCain/Palin campaign and the GOP go apoplectic. They will unleash a wave of racist, xenophobic and slanderous attacks against Barack and Joe Biden unlike anything we have seen in recent presidential campaigns. Already McCain has hired three of the attack machine specialists who spread the lies and innuendo that sunk McCain’s presidential campaign in 2000. Among the lies they spread during the 2000 South Carolina primary was that the Bangladeshi child that McCain and his wife Cindy adopted was McCain’s illegitimate Black daughter. If they are were willing to go after a member of their own party like this, can you imagine the bile they are prepared to unload against Barack?

This makes it all the more important that for the next 16 days we do all that we can to ensure that Barack is elected our next president. The time for the viciousness of hyper-partisan Republican politics is over.

There has never been a presidential nominee from either political party that is as supportive of LGBT civil rights as Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee. He has long fought for civil and equal rights for minorities including the LGBT community. And, in the presidential campaign, Sen. Obama has included LGBT Americans numerous times in his speeches.

After the jump is a list of Sen. Obama’s positions on LGBT issues.

Sen. Obama’s strong support for LGBT civil rights did not begin with his decision to run for the presidency. As an Illinois State Senator, Senator Obama’s advocacy on behalf of minorities included championing the equal rights of LGBT people when he became the chief co-sponsor of the Illinois Employment Non-Discrimination Bill which eventually became Illinois law.

Here are Sen Obama’s position on key LGBT issues:

Sen. Obama supports passage of an inclusive ENDA and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act

Sen. Obama wrote in A Call For Full Equality:

I will also place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. I have supported fully inclusive protections since my days in the Illinois legislature, when I sponsored a bill to outlaw workplace discrimination that expressly included both sexual orientation and gender identity.

Sen. Obama supports repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Sen. Obama wrote in A Call For Full Equality:

I will also fight to repeal the U.S. military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, a law that should never have been passed, and my Defense Department will work with top military leaders to implement that repeal.

Sen. Obama supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act

Sen. Obama wrote in an open letter to the LGBT community:

While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does.

Sen. Obama has committed to developing a national AIDS strategy

Sen. Obama told the Washington Blade:

If elected, during my first year in office, I will develop and implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. That strategy will reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Congress should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And, as President, I will continue to confront the stigma — too often tied to homophobia — that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.

Sen. Obama supports civil unions with equal federal benefits for same-sex couples

Sen. Obama wrote in A Call For Full Equality:

As President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples – whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage.

Sen. Obama opposes anti-gay state constitutional amendments such as those pending in California, Florida and Arizona

Sen. Obama wrote in letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club:

As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same sex couples under both state and federal law. That is why I support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, and the passage of laws to protect LGBT Americans from hate crimes and employment discrimination. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states.

Sen. Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006

Sen. Obama would appoint fair-minded justices to the Supreme Court

Sen. Obama’s positions are a stark contrast to John McCain’s long record of opposition to LGBT civl rights. For anyone who cares about LGBT people, it has to be clear that a vote for John McCain is a vote for discrimination against LGBT people.

I recently had the chance to talk to Steve Hildebrand, the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Obama Campaign and the highest ranking gay staffer for the campaign.

Steve has spent more than twenty years organizing some of the most targeted and high profile political campaigns in the nation and is recognized as one of the best political strategists in the United States. Working extensively in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, Steve has managed races and ran two political parties. He served as Midwest Political Director for the DNC during the Clinton re-elect in 1996 and as Political Director at the DSCC in 97/98. In 99/2000, Steve ran the Iowa caucuses for Vice President Gore and ran the Women Vote! Program for EMILY’s List in 2000. He managed Senator Tim Johnson’s campaign in 2002 and Senator Tom Daschle’s campaign in 2004. In 2007, decided to serve as the Deputy Campaign Manager for Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

The full interview, with discussion ranging from LGBT voter outreach to Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments to a fully-inclusive ENDA, after the jump.

Waymon Hudson- Florida is a battleground state, and it has been reported, a top priority for the Obama Campaign. How does LGBT voter outreach play in to that? Are there specific LGBT “get out the vote” efforts?

Steve Hildebrand- There are many LGBT organizers in the state- but we always need more. Voters of all backgrounds have a tremendous amount at stake in election- whether it be in foreign policy, the economic crisis, or whether issues are gay-related- there is a lot a stake. People have to get involved and make sure their issues are answered.

WH- Florida is facing a dangerous “Marriage Protection” Amendment that would not only ban same-sex marriage, but also roll back domestic partnerships and benefits (much like what happened in Michigan). While the campaign has said Obama does not support this (and other state amendments like California and Arizona), will Obama and his top level surrogates be talking about this during campaign stops? It seems like Obama taking a strong stand on this would make the point to many in the community that he will be a strong supporter of the LGBT community once elected.

SH- Obama is very clear that there should not be any amendment that writes discrimination into the constitution. He has made the fact that he does not support these amendments very clear. That being said, he is running for national office. He feels it might not be appropriate for him to tell Floridians how to vote since he is not a Floridian. But that being said, there is no question where he stands on it.

WH- HIV/AIDS is a huge issue in Florida and around the country. What is Obama’s plan domestically to combat the rising rates of infection?

SH- Awareness and education are critical. Prevention is key- through education and regular testing. Barack is one of the few political figures to have taken an HIV/AIDS test in public, both in Africa and LA, which has a huge impact to encourage testing. We have to find the funds to fight HIV/AIDS- we have to make sure drugs are available to those that can’t afford them so they can live a strong, healthy, dignified life. And we have to educate that this is not just an LGBT disease; all communities are affected by HIV/AIDS.

WH- What important LGBT issue could he act on quickly if President, what would be most likely to pass?

SH- There are a lot of important issues, but if I advised Barack, I would say to seek passage of an Employment Non Discrimination Act. Jobs and employment security is vitally important to LGBT Americans and no one should be afraid to lose their job because for their sexual orientation. That is a vital piece of legislation that could affect huge numbers of LGBT Americans and a basic right no one should be without.

WH- Would he sign a non-inclusive ENDA or hold out for a fully-inclusive one? Would he actively lobby for a fully inclusive ENDA?

SH- Barack has made it clear that gender identity and expression are vital parts of any legislation passed, especially ENDA. He solidly supports a fully-inclusive ENDA.

WH- There have been reports of voter suppression (McCain and RNC emails confusing voters, new Florida voting laws) which could harm both Obama and the fight against Amendment 2 and other anti-LGBT legislation around the country. How is the campaign combating these tactics?

SH- Well first, shame any Republican who wants to suppress votes. Political games should never be played with the right to vote. Democrats need to find any way possible- through early voting, absentee ballots- to make sure the basic right to vote is upheld. That may not suit Republicans, but it is important to give more opportunities to vote- better voting hours, vote by mail options. It should be easier, not harder to vote. Every vote needs to be counted.

WH- Immigration Equality for LGBT couples is an important issue in Florida and around the country. What would Obama do to help keep bi-national LGBT couples, many who are forced to split or leave the country since there is no national recognition of same-sex relationships, together?

SH- Barack does not feel like he gets to decide what a family should look like. Families should stay together. There are complications with immigration issues, but there are ways to work that out legislatively, to help work towards the opportunity for couples to stay together. Barack has been speaking with the Human Rights Campaign and other groups to talk about how that issue can be solved quickly.

WH- Would Obama put LGBT people in high level administration positions?

SH- Barack would run his administration the way he has lived his life and run his campaign. Diversity is important to him, and to Michelle- it is critically important to him that he hears different voices and different opinions. Barack has always sought out different opinions in his life and would continue to do so once in office. There would definitely be strong LGBT voices in his administration.

WH- Is there anything else you’d like to tell LGBT voters?

SH- This election is in a dead heat- people’s involvement is vital. There is a lot at stake. We need a strong advocate in the White House, an advocate like Obama- certainly not someone like McCain and Palin. As a gay American, I want a strong advocate for my issues, for the things that are important to me and my rights. I get that with Obama, but not with McCain/Palin.

People need to participate. If you are not registered to vote, do it, register. If people you know aren’t registered, walk them through it. Time is running out to make sure your voice is heard. Get out, volunteer, give what you can, but most importantly get out and vote.

For information on how to register to vote, get an absentee ballot, or check your voter information, go to VoteForChange.com.

For more information on the Obama Campaign, visit BarackObama.com.

Today the Chicago Tribune endorsed Barack Obama for the presidency. This is the first time in the 161 year history of the Tribune that they have endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate.

Obama is deeply grounded in the best aspirations of this country, and we need to return to those aspirations. He has had the character and the will to achieve great things despite the obstacles that he faced as an unprivileged black man in the U.S.

He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.

When Obama said at the 2004 Democratic Convention that we weren’t a nation of red states and blue states, he spoke of union the way Abraham Lincoln did.

It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation’s most powerful office, he will prove it wasn’t so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama’s name to Lincoln’s in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States.